Quickly Sold Out

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Rocking and Rollin across generations slowly disappearing into dust. Ross Wallace Chait has composed a lonely musical boundary for sounds to plunge over. Rumbling down, clattering through an unknown abyss, friendly echoes for listening ears. The entire cassette plays like a radio active wasteland of musical images. Droning static, only interrupted by creaking metal resonating in the lifeless breeze. Haunting industrial clamor, pounds with ghostly intensity. The world of Ross Wallace Chait is protracted into some apocalyptic future, mixing genres like the circulatory system of continental drift. Folk vibes from man's creations still gleaming as the imperceptible approaches.

This will be released in cassette format on the 25th of November by A
Giant Fern. I will add music samples when they become available, maybe a few more photos when the cassette arrives!

Friday, November 18, 2016

I wrote about Vapor Lanes just a little while back with their release A Thin Film on Big Sleep Records. Now in pink vinyl spender, Vapor Lanes just released Hieratic Teen on Usonian. A tragically constructed beauty positioning itself on just one armrest of drone. The sounds are lonely and distant, the music you would hear on a very early morning bike ride through the industrial side of town. Human life sparsely around, keeping machinery under control. This is the difference, Hieratic Teen has an emotional element, a sentience lurking far from the foreground, the last strands of connection before automation or destruction prevail entirely.

Hieratic Teen is five tracks divided into forty minutes of sonic space. A. Karuna is the force behind Vapor Lanes. His composition is an embodiment of electronic spirits. The two sides of the record play slightly differently. The first side attunes the listener straight away with the track titled "Appearing". A lullaby in hiss and static somehow sparkling with feelings. "Mary" dives into a drone world of a minuscule amount of energy escaping from man's devices. A controlled loss before "Embers" takes you through the gamut of A. Karuna's sonic foray. Industrial storms of noise echoing in distant thunder, seemingly approaching, but always a little far. A very beautiful sound display that continues on the second side with "Teen". The flip starts off sounding like the culmination of de-evolution somehow still playing, fighting it's way from broken speakers in distant times. The inevitable finally approaches with the last fifteen minutes of the record. "Teen", deconstructs into random processor failure and continues into the last track "Locating". The connections with consciousness have been broken as the empty sphere hurls through space. Only the remaining mechanical chatter of what once was a sea of ambient feelings is left.

Usonian, a label from Brooklyn, New York, released Hieratic Teen in the middle of October of this year. There are only two hundred copies pressed. You can purchase the vinyl at the labels bandcamp page.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Lurking in the void of field recordings from other dimensions is Steckdose. Somehow the knobs for volume input incurred a freak electronic surge, and at that same time, a passerby tripped and spilled their hot beverage into the controls. With exponentially grand odds of the processor failing completely, the most unlikely occurrence happened. The equipment mutated and now Steckdose controls a device with ability to capture sounds from other Europes, altered realities similar and all together different simultaneously.

Ambience across space and time. Drone of the moments hanging there before your ears. An environment you physically can not hear. Eurovision dwells in the cracks of the palpable and imperceptible. Like an unseen haze mixing in the everyday, the subtle sounds Steckdose has tapped into exist in every juncture of time. A specter at the controls, moving the line of the world we know and what is in store for us in the next life. This composition conveys activity and commotion framed by unimaginable expanses. So distant, there is a lurking fear when sounds have traveled that far before reaching your consciousness.

Steckdose has found home on Still Heat Recordings with this forty five minute plus release titled Eurovision. Two side long tracks titled "Berlin" and the other "Budapest". Amazing tone in a dark drone world. Be quick if you like the combination of Steckdose and Still Heat Recordings. There are only three left and every label release before this is long gone.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Two heavyweight releases by Inner Islands for the fall. These were made available in mid October, so there are copies for sale. Even a batch deal if you are into both. Stag Hare and Channelers have been on the Inner Islands label in the past. Interesting how when you think of this label, these artist somehow seem to have been and always will be timeless tendrils holding it aloft. Always good to have another Inner Island batch!

Stag Hare has returned with their first physical release since the massive box set titled Tapestry, arriving in November of 2015. Velvet And Bone has the total fiber and resins of what all listeners have grown to love with Stag Hare's euphoric approach. This time though, there seems to be a step towards exposing an inner beauty. An almost softer more vulnerable side hiding behind bones wrapped in lavish burial cloth. Looking at the cassette cover, one imagines poison or nuclear waste lurking inside. I think this is a strategic effort to place a tough boy appearance on an intimate and revealing look at the inner feelings of Stag Hare.

So yes, Velvet And Bone is somewhat different than previous compositions. Touted as a "Gothic Fable", this work could be that for sure. Sounds for nights with children before bed. There is a unique resonating allure that opens the door for new listeners to travel through. Built with sophistication and patience, ready for play time on Hearts of Space or Echoes. Stag Hare has flickered and reappeared in current physical reality. Music combining the long-established steady pace and feel, with gentle dream like vocals. There is a reflective sadness in these words. A hazy world where magic and nature blend in a swirl, then separate revealing the essential details of both. And with these revelations, we learn time is not the same for everyone. Velvet And Bone is Stag Hare story time, and it is worth listening to over and over.

Released on the label making the most sense for a composition of this splendor, Inner Islands. A limited edition of one hundred. As with most Stag Hare pieces of work and Inner Islands releases, Velvet And Bone will be sold out soon. It is less than a month old so please do not wait.

A new Channelers release on Inner Islands. Words seem to evade me when listing to Channelers. My mind positioned in some hovering state of consciousness. These sounds are fundamental, the simple base of notes combining to make the foundations of beautiful music. Thoughtfulness, talent, experience and patience unfolding to be captured on cassette by Inner Islands again.

I am listening and attempting to write these descriptive words. The basics are blissful ambient sounds bound together on a cassette titled Space Makes Clearing. Sustained well over forty minutes and divided among seven tracks, there is little manipulation, there is no need. Patterns from instruments delivered so timely, like a berceuse for the spirit. There is deft variation among the tracks, but only adding to the completeness of this entire composition. The longest piece titled "Praise for Life in All Its Forms" is one of the best things i have heard this year. The meditative element makes all anxiety dissipate completely. This reminds me of another incredible piece of music i was exposed to last year by Jordan De La Sierra and tilted Gymnosphere: Song of the Rose. This was originally released in 1977 on Unity Records then re-released at the end of 2014 by the label Numero Group. Vinyl and compact disc copies are still available if you missed it. Going back to Space Makes Clearing, the track following "Praise for Life in All Its Forms" titled "Time Out of When" is equally majestic in it's own space and time.

Copies of Channelers' cassette Space Makes Clearing are ready for you at Inner Islands. There are a bunch of little supported by pictures gathering up on the bandcamp page, which means quantities are being reduced. This will have prime time positioning in your cassette rotation.

Friday, November 11, 2016

This is the natural stuff. No additives taking your mood in unwanted directions. Listen to Versatile Ambience and an hour later you will be feeling even better. That is what good sounds do. Rod Hamilton and Tiffany Seal have taken primal ground, casting their ambient dust into the ceremonial fire. The night is late though, these vibes are for those listeners who have worked while others relaxed. The real amber glow of seasoned tones for those waiting for the sun to rise.

Versatile Ambience seems to balance in your head like a good thought with someone to tell it to. The sounds have both roots in the ground and branches reaching way into the sky. Certain tracks take you to far off to islands where bamboo is the choice medium of sound. Then, cast away into space, in planetary orbit, the control panel bleeping in rhythmic harmony. Re-entering the planet's atmosphere for a melodic splashdown in ambient seas. The spectrum of what Rod and Tiffany have created varies greatly throughout this close to forty minute journey. The most alluring aspect is how pleasing it sounds together.

This cassette was released in September on Ehse Records. This label hails from Baltimore, Maryland and has been around for close to three years. Not sure how many Versatile Ambience tapes there are, but they are available now from the label's bandcamp page.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Haunted darkness, sound pulled apart like meat for a consciousness sandwich. A percussive fog envelopes the listener, becoming thick with tones then dissipating slightly to the emptiness. There seems to be no real beginning or end. This is always playing somewhere in the mind. Only a matter of shuffling around to hear more clearly. Future Ape Tapes drifts like a ghost ship, then unexpectedly jibes with an unexplained force.

Seven tracks slowly unraveling over a half an hour. This cassette titled 1093 is exceptionally difficult to place words with. There is music, and everything holding it to that point collapses. The parts and pieces scattered, like the wreckage of a plane crashing to earth at a minute angle. Future Ape Tapes lobs guitar licks and electronic mortar, these sounds detonate in the sky above and their residue falls gently down. There is no focal point, your thoughts wander with the otherworldly creations 1093 has manifested.

This cassette was released on Fall Break Records out of Athens, Georgia. They have been releasing frayed sounds of real pop, having roots in a tripped out realm of experimentalism. 1093 hit physical existence in an edition of fifty and is available from in tangible form from Fall Break Records bandcamp page. Future Ape Tapes has been around for a long time. You can take a look at their compositions at their bandcamp site.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

This is one of a few posts i have done for something other than physical releases. Since this is purely something to enjoy and fits very well with Lost In A Sea Of Sound, i wanted to share.

From Randall who is Amulets...SLOW VISIONS is a new monthly curated, experimental web series inspired
by Norwegian Slow TV and Sigur Ros’s Route One. Using stock + found
footage SLOW VISIONS showcases contemporary ambient/drone artists and
juxtaposes them with fascinatingly mundane, slow, and uncut footage.
SLOW VISIONS is shorter in length, but more concise - focusing on the
hypnotic and symbiotic relationship of droning audio & visuals.

Lost In A Sea Of Sound will continue to share these visuals that go so well with ambient goodness. Here is Episode 1 - THESE CONTROLLING FORCES. You can also subscribe to Randall's YouTube Channel.

Art of the Uncarved Block is small tape label based out of Toronto, Canada. The label's sounds are formulated from the artistic projects they have love for working on. Limited releases with vibrant artwork and plenty of notes to keep you engaged. Bordering on the great white north with frayed sounds of swirling punk and lonely folk. Well worth the time to explore.

Here are the links for two releases with some descriptions by lost in a sea of sound:

A while back, Shahman was a treat to have on Lost in a Sea of Sound. This was a very personal composition titled Demise of a Body out on Dismal Niche. Almost two years since this release, Shahman has returned with Fragments of a Distant Light. A significant amount of work has been done between these two releases. Fifteen tracks over a half an hour, finding the holy center of rock and hovering there with their heavy sound and magical lyrics.

Shahman plays with a massive amount of awareness. Weighty sounds of distorted strings on a carpet ride through dusty lands, blending like threads in an immense tapestry. The vocals describe details of what gets overseen in everyday life. A sustained percussive explosion, deepens the groove Shahman's sounds run through. Then the impenetrable forest of noise opens to small clearings. Gentle guitar and spoken word, like a ritual in the woods. The fuzzed out folk vibe that says we understand beauty exists when the tempo slows down to hear. Skies darken again as the music runs hard, burying itself in the single moment of formation. Shahman has a native sound that always seems to prevail. Like indigenous ceremonies from around the world being channeled into current time.

Fragments of a Distant Light was releases on the label Art of the Uncarved Block. This label is out of Toronto. There are some pretty cool releases on the label deserving a look and listen. Everything nicely presented with great artwork and packaging. Shahman's third full length is available from the labels bandcamp page.

Taking stirring emotion and making music from those feelings. The project Dust From 1000 YRS, now out of Boston, opens the door with sweet sounds of guitar and vocals, creating harmony to walk in to. Be careful though, because the guy making this music goes by the name Bone. Listening to this tape Spring, will help make the connection of this wounded sounding picking and singing with what rest in abundance, buried beneath the ground.

First off, i want to ask Bone what a chucklehead is? These must be people that are disappointments in existence. The herd of consciousnesses living in and looking at rectangles. The music on this cassette Spring, really boils over with a contempt for life or chuckleheads as we hear in the lyrics. There is a very well articulated, sad elegance, in the simplicity of how it is constructed. The lyrics are like emotional outbursts of encounters with life's obstacles. The entire composition is beautifully written, played and sung. One excellent feature is Spring sounds better each time you hear it. Let us all be thankful Bone likes create music and hopefully does not own guns.

This was released on the label Art of the Uncarved Block in September of this year. A limited run of not sure how many. If you like Dust From 1000 YRS, there is more to listen to on so hard young boy. About ten more releases on their bandcamp page.

Monday, November 7, 2016

An evening of live music. Mutated macabre sounds, maybe jazz but really a swirling punk attack, crushing any listeners. Two bands, PRESENT and Wire Werewolves, each taking one side of the cassette. Both on the caustic edge of composition, and in live form, raw, uncaring, sustained explosiveness. Slowly shattering the crowd, and now on tape, ready to move outward.

This split cassette is long, close to an hour of music divided between the two bands. There is a similar tone the runs through either side. The biggest difference is the angle of planetary attack. PRESENT sits in the seventies no wave cockpit with a picture of James Chance on the instruments. The third track "Critical Dreaming", adds weight to this time period, sounding like the negative of James Bond theme song. These songs are long, never resting until the last track. "prepared tape passage". The set takes an experimental turn and returns to space.

The Wire Werewolves side is formed around guitar intensity with tons of feedback. Add a smashing percussive assault to this turning beam of sound, looking for any potential escapees. Wire Werewolves plays with speed, damaging conscious thoughts, and wrecking present space. Song titles like "Sever the Drowned" and "Her Weeping Echoes", are good indicators of the nature of their sound.

This cassette was released by Mike Meanstreetz a member of the five piece band PRESENT. Not sure if this is a label, but more of a self releasing project by Mike for his circle of musicians. Available from the Mike Meanstreetz bandcamp page. In an edition of one hundred and stitched cassette sleeves.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Rok Lok Records is from Long Island, New York. They cover all sound forms and have well over a hundred releases. Some cool bundles and different package options are available. This is a look at four artists and five releases. Take some time and explore, these compositions are absolutely worth a listen.

Shivering Window has been releasing lo-fi home brewed music for over five years. This is a seven inch on Rok Lok Records and Juniper Tree Songs. One song on each side, both tracks cultured through the existence of the project created by Matthew Gray. These sounds are much more subdued and refined than earlier recordings. Not sure if the sounds from their start are results of recording equipment or intentionally crafting the raw sound, but later releases like this seven inch have a mellowness too them. This style of music has resonance in the New Zealand output of the early nineties, even though Shivering Window is from California. Beautiful composed tracks, thick in sonic layering, with tones and messages of hope overwhelmed by heavy introspectiveness.

Available on Rok Lok Records out of East Northport, New York and co-released on Juniper Tree Songs from Long Beach, California. Released in an edition of two hundred.